Commentary

We expect utility services to be everywhere we are: charging our electronics in airports, flame-grilling our meals in restaurants, and filling drinking fountains in our public parks. To provide this level of service and convenience, utilities build networks of wires and pipes and communications channels that for the typical utility total in the tens of thousands of miles. Because of their ubiquity and importance, utilities face challenges in securing these networks from physical and cyber attack.

Demand response is making national news thanks to some disconcerted utilities and a New Mexico senator. Utilities, including FirstEnergy and several New England generators, are petitioning the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to eliminate demand response as a resource in capacity energy markets.

A recent article explores the expectations for what the "next big thing" will be in the energy industry. The piece discusses how not one person in attendance at a recent energy conference could have guessed ten years ago that shale gas would be such a significant aspect of today's energy industry. This led to the question, "What is the next shale gas?"

Engaged customers represent the Promised Land for utilities facing a myriad of business and regulatory pressures. They enable more effective demand-response and efficiency programs, which achieve regulatory goals.

Many residential consumers are currently unaware of one of the easiest ways to reduce their cost of living. Some spend hours researching different smartphone data plans and cable services to save only a few dollars a month. By understanding what utility tariffs are and which ones are available, residents can unlock a new way to save more money in less time.

With so many smart thermostats on the market today, it can be difficult to determine which one is best for you. You want one that is going to be easy to install, simple to program, pleasing to look at, and probably most important, one that will save you money.

Frequently we have been exposed to the terms "redundant," "distributed generation," and "decentralization" but they are rarely, precisely explained or the properties that may or may not make them candidates as a likely solution for both cyber and physical threats.

Results of a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) on an array of electricity generation sources, from fossil fuels to solar power.

In much of California, electric and gas Smart Meters are wireless. Smart Meters can also be wired. The meters collect our energy usage information in very detailed format and transmit that information directly to the utility company every day, throughout the day.

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